“He might’ve messed with the wrong guy,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the checkered flag was waved at Nashville Superspeedway. The 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 saw Carson Hocevar in the headlines for all the wrong reasons once again, with an on-track incident overshadowing his inspiring runner-up finish at the 1.33-mile track. At Atlanta earlier this year, the 22-year-old riled up Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Blaney, who confronted him on pit road after his only previous 2nd-place finish in the Cup Series. This time around, it was Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The veteran racer isn’t one to let things slide, and issued a clear warning to the Spire Motorsports sophomore that vengeance will be on the cards. And now, Denny Hamlin has confirmed that Stenhouse Jr. will follow through with his words when the time is right.

Denny Hamlin warns Hocevar of retribution

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had high hopes for the Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway. Starting in 13th place, the Hyak Motorsports driver was eager to climb up the grid and potentially secure a top-10 finish as he was putting together a powerful push for a playoff berth, but fate had other plans. Driving the No. 47 Chevy, the veteran was running 17th when Hocevar’s No. 77 hit his vehicle’s left rear, sending him spinning into the outside wall. And just like that, Stenhouse Jr’s race was over in the blink of an eye, as he was forced to settle for a point after being dumped in Stage 2.

Stenhouse Jr. warned Hocevar about payback afterwards, saying, “Definitely will have something to do about it at one point,” and Denny Hamlin doesn’t think it’s an empty threat. Sharing his thoughts on the Actions Detrimental podcast, the 44-year-old said, “Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will absolutely wreck Carson Hocevar sometime in the near future. You know, he ain’t gonna punch him in the face, but he will absolutely wreck him. If you’re Carson, just know that it’s coming, so don’t be surprised.”

Hocevar didn’t make the situation any easier for himself. After the race, the youngster wasn’t exactly apologetic for his actions, doubling down and shifting the blame by saying, “Honestly, probably could have cleared me. So, that’s just what I expected him to do, and he didn’t.” The 22-year-old even asked the veteran to give him a break, given “how big of a run I had.” That’s like adding fuel to the fire and will only make Ricky Stenhouse Jr. more eager to seek vengeance.

Hamlin also didn’t hesitate to draw parallels to his own antics against Ross Chastain in the past. The Joe Gibbs Racing #11 claimed that even he wouldn’t hold back from wrecking Hocevar if the latter ever decided to wreck him. Denny added, “Carson hasn’t done anything to me yet that has been egregious, but I guarantee you, if he does, I’m gonna get him… We saw with Ross [Chastain], eventually I was like ‘ahh I’m done.’ You may think it’s cool to be this tough guy. Put on this persona… You’re not that guy. This is a different type of racing nowadays. It’s not the best strategy, especially as good as he’s running.”

Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain’s history is littered with heated moments, but one that sticks out is when Hamlin wrecked Chastain at Phoenix Raceway in 2023. Hamlin was frustrated after Chastain constantly blocked him throughout the race, forcing him to check up, and this tension was built throughout the 2022 season, with both drivers beating and banging each other. At Phoenix, Hamlin had enough and forced Chastain into the wall on the last lap and said after the race, “My crew chief told me there were 18 cars on the lead lap. At that point, I said, ‘Alright, I’m probably running sixth or seventh, I’m about to get passed by everyone behind me on fresh tires. I’m about to finish in the mid-teens. I said, ‘You’re (about Chastain) coming with me, buddy.’”

Racing hard and being aggressive is a positive thing, no doubt, but Hamlin feels Hocevar needs to pick his battles wisely. Hamlin added, “Their analysts said Carson had an opportunity to be empathetic to Ricky Stenhouse, who he just wrecked, and he chose not to. It’s gonna come back to him.” For all his talent, the sophomore still has a lot to learn at NASCAR’s highest level. The ‘tough guy’ persona isn’t winning him many friends in the garage, a factor that could come to hurt him later on. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.

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Dale Jr. isn’t impressed with Hocevar’s antics, but praised his personality

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been there and done that. The veteran racer has experienced his fair share of on-track scuffles back in the day, and was in the booth for Amazon Prime during the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400. Despite Carson Hocevar securing a joint career-high finish at Nashville Superspeedway, he also made some very real enemies. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. isn’t one to get on the wrong side of, and his reckless antics didn’t win over the JR Motorsports co-owner, but the Hall of Famer sees potential in the 22-year-old.

Sharing his thoughts after the race, Dale Jr. echoed Denny Hamlin’s comments by saying, “It is entertaining. I just don’t like it when he wrecks the good guy. You have got to pick and choose who your enemies are. You can’t just blanket the garage. I want him to really dial it back because it’s great as a fan to see him in controversy; we need a little color and personality, and he brings tons of it. But the garage will police it a little bit. Nobody has stepped up to it just yet.”

While Hocevar admitted after the race in Atlanta that “There is some stuff I have to learn and clean up a little bit,” it feels like his actions aren’t matching his words. It might not come at Michigan or even in Mexico City, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will strike when he gets the chance. And for any sophomore learning the ropes, having a target on your back this early in your career is far from an ideal scenario. The 22-year-old is just an aggressive driver, but perhaps wrecking veterans in pursuit of Victory Lane isn’t the wisest strategy.